Child's Welfare
Detective Benson calls on Bayard Ellis for legal help when her estranged brother gets caught in a child custody battle. Summary Detective Benson's half-brother Simon Marsden turns up in New York after a five year absence, and asks for help – Child Services is threatening to take his children away from him. She asks defense attorney Bayard Ellis to represent her brother, but the seemingly simple case turns into a disaster for Ellis and his client. Meanwhile, a homeless couple finds a newborn baby abandoned near a hospital, and Detectives Fin and Rollins follow the evidence to a shocking discovery. Plot A baby boy is abandoned on the steps of a church not far away from a hospital. The DNA testing shows that the baby's mother is a young girl named Celia, who had been missing for three years. The detectives find a similar case years ago in New Jersey. After interviewing the mother of the first abandoned child, Laurie, it is discovered that she was abducted and kept by a husband and wife. When Laurie gave birth to a son, the husband wouldn't allow her to keep it. In the end, the detectives discover that a husband and wife have been holding Celia and her 2-year-old daughter captive and rescue them. Meanwhile, Olivia's brother Simon asks for her help when his stepson Ty and his daughter Olivia are taken away from him and his fiancee, Tracy. Olivia gets Bayard Ellis to help defend Simon against the drug charges that led to him losing his children, but Simon loses faith in the system and doesn't believe that he'll get his kids back. Simon and Tracy abduct their kids from foster care and are arrested. Ellis is able to get Simon's charges reduced, but he and Tracy have to separate and he cannot have custody of his children for three years. Cast Main cast * Mariska Hargitay as Detective Olivia Benson * Danny Pino as Detective Nick Amaro * Kelli Giddish as Detective Amanda Rollins * Richard Belzer as Sergeant John Munch * Ice-T as Detective Odafin Tutuola * Dann Florek as Captain Donald Cragen Recurring cast * Andre Braugher as Defense Attorney Bayard Ellis * Michael Weston as Simon Marsden * Ami Brabson as Judge Karyn Blake * Tabitha Holbert as A.D.A. Rose Callier * Priscilla Lopez as Family Court Judge Shira Suarez * Roy Milton Davis as Charlie Guest cast * Nicole Beharie as Tracy Harrison * Veanne Cox as ACS Case Worker * Halley Wegryn Gross as Laurie * Peter Van Wagner as Judge C. Himes * Kevin Kane as Officer Greg Wilcox * Julie Lauren as Jenna Fleming * Glenn Kalison as Will Fleming * Danielle Skraastad as Magda Plasky * Leslie Kalarchian as Melissa Anders * George Sheffey as Leo Barber * Graham Anderson as John Plasky * Emma Holzer as Celia Barber * Ann McDonough as Terri Malone * Angela Logan as Nancy Roland * Sonnie Brown as Helena Rich * Jeremy Rishe as Dr. Shea * Vincetta Easley as Lucinda * Andre Ware as Sergeant Wodley * Colin Douglas as Ty Harrison Quotes Episode quotes Background information and notes *The episode was based on the kidnapping of Jaycee Lee Dugard. Episode scene cards Category:SVU episodes